Book Title: SUMMER’S GIFT
Character Name: Summer Sutherland Weston
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
I always wanted a close family, but that’s not what I got. My father abandoned my mother and I before I was even born and wants nothing to do with me. At least, that’s the lie I was told, over and over again, my whole life. My mother still acts like the spoiled rich girl she’s been since her mother died when she was young, and her father spoiled her to make up for the loss and working all the time while he reigned over Sutherland Industries. While my mother was jet-setting and marrying one wealthy man after another, my grandfather and great uncle were the only ones who really took an interest in my life. I lost my great uncle a couple years ago and inherited his vast real estate holdings. I miss the trips we used to take for my school breaks and holidays when my mother left me behind to be with whoever she loved most at the time.
What was your greatest talent?
Making everyone think I’m okay. I hide the loneliness and the longing for the father who abandoned me to a life with a selfish mother, who only thinks about herself. At twenty-five, I’ve mastered the art of acting like I don’t care and hiding the pain.
Significant other?
Well, no one in a long time, because the last guy my mother set me up with – someone suitably rich and well connected – turned out to be using me to get close to my grandfather. Turns out, he wanted the power and position my grandfather could give him and not me. Not a unique situation in my life. Until Cody walked into my office, and something strange happened. It was like he saw me. Not the person I show the world, but the woman who’d been abandoned and mistreated and lied to her whole life. And the attraction…let’s just say it was off the charts. A big surprise for her because most people called her cold. He made her feel hot and needy.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
Trust. When the people closest to you let you down all the time, it’s hard to believe someone will always be truthful, have your back, and do everything they can to never hurt you. Cody feels like that person. And when he introduces her to the father who never even knew she existed, she thinks Nate might just be the dad she dreamed of having since she was a kid.
Where do you live?
Texas. But now that she’s met her dad and has moved into his Carmel, California house on the beach, she’s thinking of staying for a while so she can get to know him and her two half-sisters, Haley and Natalie. Haley is excited about getting to know Summer, but Natalie…she’s suspicious and jealous, because she and Cody have a very close relationship – they practically grew up together. But Cody is too old for her eighteen-year-old sister and has made it clear, he wants Summer. And Summer can’t help falling for the kind, sexy, patient lawyer, even if it upsets her sister.
Do you have any enemies?
Natalie’s not really an enemy. I’m doing my best to forge a real relationship with her and everyone in the Weston family, but it’s not easy when you’re the outsider and everyone else has a lifetime of history together.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
I love Carmel and being at my father’s home. I’ve wanted to be a part of a loving family my whole life. They’re all so close. But that just makes me feel even more like the outsider. I don’t want to be the cause of friction, but Natalie has made it clear she prefers to be the center of attention. Especially when she plots to get Cody’s attention away from Summer. But Summer wants to make this work, so she keeps trying and hoping that things will get better.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
Unfortunately, neither. I work long hours at Sutherland Industries as my grandfather’s protégé and heir to the corporation. While he’s made the company his life, that’s not what I want for myself. I want a loving husband and children, a home that is filled with love and laughter and joy. A home like the one her father has with his family. I really want to be a part of that, but I’m a grown woman and want something of my own too.
Greatest disappointment?
My grandfather was the only person in my life who I knew wholeheartedly loved me and would never hurt me. And then I found he lied to me my whole life. He knew my father knew nothing about me. He knew where Nate lived and worked. But he never told me. Not until he set it up for me to take that DNA test that matched me with my little sister Haley. He didn’t want to get caught in the lie, but I saw right through his scheme. I love him for finally revealing the truth, but I’m angry that he kept it from for so long.
Greatest source of joy?
Forging a real and lasting relationship with my father. He’s steady and stable and nothing like her self-absorbed mother. She can count on her father to keep his word. And Cody. He makes her smile and laugh. He’s willing to change his life to be a part of hers. In all the drama and chaos of finding her father and integrating into being part of the family, Cody is the one she feels is the most like home. He’s the safe haven she always needed and wanted.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
I spend too much time working, but it’s my stepsister Lucy who always brings me out of my shell and takes me out to have fun. I love her like she’s my real sister. And sometimes a lady needs to get away, so Lucy and I pick a place in the world and get lost for a while. And there’s wine.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
I shouldn’t have taken no for an answer when I was young and wanted to meet my father. Even if he didn’t want me, I wanted the chance to look him in the eye and ask him why. But when you’re told over and over again that you’re not wanted, you believe it. But now I know the truth.
What keeps you awake at night?
Cody! I can’t stop thinking about him. I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
Trying to get my sister Natalie to like me and stop coming between me and Cody. It’s causing a lot of strife in the family and if things don’t get better, it may be better for me to go back to Texas before my presence tears the family apart.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
A real home. A place where I’m accepted and loved. I’m not the only one who wants that. Cody lost both his parents young. It’s just him and his sister. But he wants what I want, but we live in different states and are both tied to our family businesses. Making it work is going to take a lot of compromise, but we love each other, and we’ll make it work, because being together is the most important thing.
SUMMER’S GIFT by Jennifer Ryan
A Novel
A young woman takes a DNA test on a whim and discovers the birth father—and half sisters—she never knew. New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ryan returns with this dramatic and page-turning novel perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Lori Foster.
A DNA test tells you who you come from, not who you are.
All her life, Summer Sutherland felt like the missing piece in a puzzle, left out and looking for the place she truly belongs. And when an at-home DNA test reveals her selfish mother and well-meaning grandfather lied about her father, Summer sets out to discover the truth.
Her new instant family comes with two half sisters: one who accepts her with open arms, the other resistant to the stranger staying in their house. But somehow Summer senses this is where she is meant to be—so she settles into her father’s Carmel home, ready to get to know them and find her place in the family she always wanted.
But while her newfound parent is thrilled to get to know Summer—and her romantic connection to his business partner, Cody, heats up—tensions rise within the family.
Will she ever fit in? Or should she return to her other life before tearing all their lives apart?
Women’s Fiction | Romance [Avon, On Sale: June 20, 2023, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780063094154 / eISBN: 9780063094161]
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About Jennifer Ryan
Jennifer Ryan writes romantic suspense and contemporary small-town romances featuring strong men and equally resilient women. Her stories are filled with love, friendship, and the happily-ever-after we all hope to find. Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, three children, dog (Bella), and cat (Shadow). When she isn’t writing a book, she’s reading one.
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